A while ago I asked if people would be interested in blog posts on questions that come into the info@shadowrun4.com address, and the responses were positive. So welcome to the first in the IQ&A (which stands for “Informal Questions and Answers”) series. Remember the “I”–these answers should not be taken as the final word on any subject. They merely represent my thinking at the moment. And I’m not that bright.

Our question today comes from a fine player named Daniel, who writes:

I've been running Shadowrun since I found it in the late 80s and Ihave a few questions with the new edition which I deeply enjoy by theway. They are:There's nothing in the books but is there a realistic cap on thenumber of levels of Mystic Armor for Adepts? *I have a player who is aTroll Physical Adept who took this 12 times for his new character.Also do Mystic Armor and the Armor spell stack? *I could see the arguement either way.Thank youMy answer: Glad you’re enjoying the new edition! The first part of your question is somewhat simple. Mystic Armor is limited the same way any other adept power is limited–the combined cost of the adept powers selected cannot exceed the character’s Magic attribute. Mystic Armor costs 0.5 points per level, meaning that to buy 12 levels of it, a character needs to have a Magic attribute of 6. That would be the only adept power they had, and the character could not cast spells.

So if the character wanted Armor cast on him, someone else would have to do the casting. The result is a judgment call, but I’m going to base it on the descriptions in the text. Mystic Armor “magically toughens your skin,” while Armor “creates a glowing field of magical energy around the subject.” I don’t see a reason why the glowing field should interfere at all with the magically toughened skin, so I would assume that the effect of the Armor spell would stack with the Mystic Armor. This could make the troll a tank–but I should note that the Adept quality would cost it 5 BP, the 2-5 Magic points would cost it* 40 BP, and the 6th Magic point would cost it 25 BP. The fact that it’s a troll adds in another 40 BP. That’s 110 BP spent, with all attributes at 1, no Skills, no cash, and no gear. He’ll be a tank, but he’ll have some vulnerabilities, too. There might not be enough points to make this guy offensively skilled and strong-minded. If I faced this guy, the first thing I’m doing is going with Control Thoughts to see if I can get that tank pointed in the other direction. Just sayin’.